Hunger & Livelihoods

When she was impregnated aged at 16 years in 2019, Passover Ngwara was destined to become a statistic—a promising young girl who got pregnant, dropped out of primary school and fell into the vicious poverty trap. A typical rural Malawian story that replicates itself across this country.

Divorced with seven hungry kids to feed, 37-year-old Grace Emmanuel typified poverty in its perfect form.

In Muhilili Village in the district of Zomba, a forest of trees atop sitting on a hill stands like a crown jewel at the heart of the village—lush and forestry—a sharp contrast to the bare hills in the surrounding villages which pale in comparison.

But it was not always like this.

Vincent, 45, is a member of Namwekho Village Savings and Loan (VSL). He has a small family of three children— two boys and one girl. When Save the Children, through its Sponsorship livelihood program, introduced VSL at his village as part of improving the livelihood of families, Vincent joined and immediately started saving.